Shaun Edwards, Wales's highly-rated defence coach, will return home from the Rugby World Cup on Sunday and start looking for work – and his availability could interest England.
Edwards's four-year stint with the semi-finalists is over and his 10-year career at Wasps, where he is the head coach, is about to come to an end. The Welsh Rugby Union said it wanted to hold talks with Edwards in the coming week, but he will first speak to Wasps, where the management team is being shaken up by David Young, the director of rugby who joined in the summer.
Edwards wants to work with England, but with various reviews being conducted by the Rugby Football Union after a poor campaign in New Zealand and the team manager, Martin Johnson, still to decide whether he wants to carry on, it may be months before he knows whether there will be an opening at Twickenham.
"It is not really the right time to be talking about my future," Edwards said after Wales's play-off defeat to Australia. "It looks as if I am going to be a free agent when I get back to England, unconnected at both club and international level."
Asked if that would mean leaving Wasps, where during his time working with the directors of rugby Nigel Melville, Warren Gatland and Ian McGeechan he has been part of a club that has won every club trophy at least once, he said: "Potentially, maybe in the future.
"I will make a statement when it all comes out properly but the club is in financial difficulties and maybe it is time for me to go on to bigger challenges. I like to coach rugby teams and it has been a pleasure to be involved with Wales but my future is up in the air, there is no doubt about that. I would have an open mind to anything."
Edwards signed a new contract with Wasps this year but the Premiership club, which has been put up for sale by the owner, Steve Hayes, is looking to trim its wage bill.
It is believed that Young does not see Edwards as part of his team, but Wasps cannot afford to pay him off and he may find himself on gardening leave until a financial settlement is agreed.
